We created this blog so that information could be disseminated to the members of the Sheridan County Republican Party and anyone else who took the time to visit and read. Given the political climate of today and the pathetic bias of what passes for "media," we needed a method to get information to the grassroots. Sure, you can read the Sheridan Press or the Cowboy State Daily, but how much of that is pertinent to Sheridan County and how much of it is actually factual?
Here's an example: Are Taxpayers Funding Story House Village? We reprinted a Letter to the Editor that was published by the Sheridan Press. The Press made three factual errors when they transcribed the letter. A person named in the letter took umbrage with that and complained to the Press. The Press' response was, not to correct the information, but to remove the letter from their online edition, so it only exists if you have a copy of the newspaper. That same person wanted us to remove the blog post with the letter, saying that it was "untrue." Since our version was correct, we refused as this is information that ties into SAWSJPB and other local happenings. The offended person then posted a rant on another one of our blog posts: RANT Without getting into specifics, other than the telling quote that "The housing money will be given to another town if not Sheridan," the main gripe was anonymity of our blog post.
Almost all of our blog posts are posted under a name. If you set up an account and sign into the website, you will see who posted to the blog. It also lets you comment on the post, which we gladly welcome. Our posts are intended to be informative and thought-provoking.
Let's talk about the truly anonymous posts. We have a couple. For the most part these are submitted by people who, for various reasons, cannot have their name tied to it for legitimate fear of retribution. Generally, it has to do with their employment. One of the problems in today's world, when dealing with Leftists, is that they cannot articulate their side of an argument. This is generally because facts and reality don't support their opinions. So what do they do? They target the PERSON, not the idea. You can't have a discussion about ideas if the only thing you do is bash the person.
Sadly, we spend a lot of time on our blog putting out fires that other people start. Here is the most recent fire, started by a hot breeze east of town:
A little background first. Around five years ago, a group of RINOs, Redcoats, Blue-Dots, Establishment, Elitist Republicans (pick your favorite) didn't like the direction the State Republican Party was headed. If you've been paying attention, over the last six to seven years, the state party managed to shed the Truly Wealthy Elitist Establishment leadership and reflect the grassroots, everyday Wyoming Republican. You know, people like you. At the state level, each county has three representatives, so for the most part, the state party is a reflection of Wyoming values. If you want to understand these values, just read the Party Platform. The party expects the people who "Ride for the Brand" to be aligned with at least 80% of the platform. Do you like to smoke pot and kill babies? Great, there's your 20%. Add to that gay marriage, men in women's sports, and you should consider your party choice. It's not that hard.
The Old Guard, the Wealthy Establishment elitists, who know oh-so-much better than the grassroots working people, are not happy with the party's change in direction. A group of them got together and founded a little organization called the Frontier Republicans. One of their main tenets was "civil" discourse, which was like a tumbleweed on the windy frontier as they quickly started calling the grassroots folks unprintable names. One of the founders of the Frontier Republicans was none other than Gail Symons. As an aside, the Frontier Republicans do not support 80% of the Wyoming Republican Party platform.
A key strategy on the "Frontier" was to recruit and get elected precinct people in each county who were either malleable or more leftist in their political views. Several counties, such as Campbell and Uinta, fell victim to their efforts. Gail has participated in this in the last two elections, by mailing out "slate cards" to Republican voters in contested Sheridan County precincts. In 2020, she managed to do this correctly. In 2022, she made several errors.
In Gail's letter to the editor of the Cowboy State Daily, she, for the third or fourth time, revises her story on her mailer. The postcard had no identity of who mailed it, other than a PO Box in Sheridan. Most people thought it was sent by the Sheridan County Republican Party as it says "YOUR Republican Party" at the top. The PO Box was linked to the Frontier Republican PAC, which wasn't identified on the mailer. According to Gail, it was "paid for by candidates," yet out of the over100 precinct candidates, only 11 contributed money. And guess what? "Paid for by candidates" isn't even allowed, it must come from a specific campaign, an individual, or a PAC.
Gail altruistically claims she "created a mail campaign to encourage Republicans to vote for candidates running for precinct positions." In actuality, she created a mail campaign to encourage Republicans to vote for the candidates that she, and by default the Frontier Republicans, found acceptable.
The mailer was sent out at the end of July. After receiving numerous phone calls asking why the Sheridan County Republican Party was supporting some candidates and not others, the Party filed an Election Code Violation of August 4th. Gail claims she formed a County PAC "within 10 days" but she did so on August 17th with herself as Treasurer and Christi Haswell as President. You can do the math.
If you'd like to read Gail's County PAC report, which includes donors, you may find it below.
If you'd like to read the Sheridan County Sheriff's Office investigative report, which shows the timeline, you may find it below.
We can't understand why Gail felt the need to include her election code violation in her letter to the editor of the Cowboy State Daily. It seems her subject title and main agenda was to complain about being "bushwhacked" by an anonymous person. Is she trying to compare herself to the precinct committee candidates she bushwhacked by sending out an anonymous card? For someone who refers to herself as a "civics wonk," we wonder if she actually understands civics. (Yes, Jane, she does call herself that and we aren't 10-years old.)
Let's talk values. Do you like Harriet Hageman? Do you think she represents you and Wyoming? If your answers are yes, keep in mind that Harriet was a product of the current grassroots Wyoming Republican Party. She is the kind of candidate that we support. On the flip side, Mark Gordon and John "Mitch" Barrasso are products of the Old Guard Wealthy Establishment Elite. And if you like Albert Sommers, Ogden Driskill, and Dan Zwonitzer, you'll love the Frontier Republicans and their new "Wyoming Caucus."
So once again, the main purpose of our blog is to disseminate information and put out fires. We hope you continue to follow us and sign up for an account and share your opinion.
If you'd like another take on "Bushwhacking," we recommend reading this excellent letter to the editor written by Laurie Bratten of Sheridan, who was one of the targets of Representative Cyrus Western's ANONYMOUS mailing/hit piece, which remains "under investigation" by the Wyoming Attorney General's Office.
For those of you not logged in, this post was written and posted by Tod Windsor, State Committeeman for Sheridan County.
I wish to thank my friend Tod Windsor for his brilliant writing ability to share the truth so transparently. I recommend that every Republican should read them.